Amnon Weinstein on the Violins of Hope (16 min.)

On the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, an emotional concert was given under the title Violins of Hope in the Chamber Music Hall. Sir Simon Rattle conducted the Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, and the programme included other works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Max Bruch and a world premiere. Among the participants were the actor Ulrich Matthes, cellist Zvi Plesser, members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Guy Braunstein, former first concertmaster of the orchestra. The term Violins of Hope refers to the instruments that were played in this concert. They are from the collection of luthier family Weinstein, who emigrated to Israel in the 1930s. The violins, violas and cellos are tied to the history of the persecution of the Jews: some of them were brought to Israel by musicians who were able to flee in time, while others belonged to Jews murdered by the Nazis. Here, Amnon Weinstein tells the story of this collection.